Juvenile Justice Bill passed- The road ahead

New Delhi, Dec 22:The much awaited Juvenile Justice Bill was finally passed in the Rajya Sabha today. While the passing of this bill which will become a law will not have any impact on the juvenile who was accused in the Nirbhaya case, it would have a bearing in future cases.

The main point that this bill seeks to make is to try those between the age of 16 and 18 as adults for heinous crimes. The bill was passed six months back by the Lok Sabha and it was pending assent by the Rajya Sabha.

What to expect from the bill?

The bill replaces the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. The bill permits juveniles between 16-18 years of age to be tried as adults for heinous offences.

-There is however a clause while trying persons between the age of 16 and 18. The bill states that any person in the age group of 16 and 18 who commits an offence can be tried only if he or she is apprehended after the age of 21 years/

-As per the new bill, there will be a Juvenile Justice Boards (JJB) and Child Welfare Committees (CWC) in each district of the country. The board will decide if a juvenile is to be sent for rehabilitation or tried as an adult.

The road ahead:

With the bill being passed, the amendments would be affected by the union law ministry. There would be a consultation process and all states would be intimated about the same in writing.

It would now be the duty of the states to set up juvenile justice boards under the new law to decide on how a juvenile should be dealt with.

Legal experts say that it would could be at least six to eight months before the entire process sets into motion. However legal experts also add that with the passage of the new bill all cases will be tried as per the new norms where a juvenile is involved.

The new laws would however in prospective effect. This would mean that only those cases registered after today will fall under the ambit of the new law.